The fairy tale season of the professional Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense ended in tragedy when their plane crashed in Colombia, killing all but six of the 81 people aboard.

As Colombian investigators tried Tuesday to pin down the cause and retrieve the bodies, Brazilian President Michel Temer declared three days of national mourning and his countrymen braced for a series of wrenching funerals.

Meanwhile, in a show of sportsmanship, the Colombian club Atlético Nacional that the Brazilians were flying down to play in South America’s second biggest soccer tournament asked organizers to award the doomed team the title.

Operated by LaMia, the plane was about 18 miles from its destination when for reasons still unclear it went down in a mountainous jungle area, killing 75 of the people on board, said Gen. Jose Acevedo, who heads the local police force.

Foul weather conditions were reported at the time of the crash and rescue operations were suspended overnight due to heavy rain.

“We are working fast, in part to relieve the pain of the families of these victims who came to play a sport, but found death here in Colombia,” a spokesman for Colombia’s national Risk Management and Disaster Unit said after removing 50 of the bodies.

Alfredo Bocanegra, the head of Colombia’s civil aviation agency, said that communication with Bolivian officials suggested the plane was experiencing electrical problems.

Investigators were also checking reported claims by a cabin crew member who said the plane had run out of fuel.

A doctor told Colombian TV that Ruschel was being operated on after suffering multiple injuries to his limbs and a lumbar spine fracture. The 27-year-old defender was later confirmed to be in an intensive care unit.

In addition to players and coaches, several journalists were among the 72 passengers and nine crew members on board the jet.

Local radio said the same plane had transported Argentina’s national squad for a match earlier this month in Brazil, and had previously had also flown Venezuela’s national team to competitions.

Chapecoense had played for years in Brazil’s lower leagues before breaking out in 2014 and making it into the soccer-mad country’s top Serie A league.

Last week, the team qualified for the Copa Sudamericana finals — the equivalent of the UEFA Europa League tournament — after defeating Argentina’s San Lorenzo squad. And their first opponent Wednesday was supposed to be the Medellin-based Atlético Nacional.

They were considered the underdogs.

“The Brazilian soccer family is mourning,” Brazilian soccer legend Pele said in a statement. “This is a tragedy.”

Chapecoense’ s best-known player was Cleber Santana, a midfielder whose best years were spent in Spain with Athletico Madrid and Mallorca.

The team’s coach, Caio Junior, had previously managed some of Brazil’s biggest clubs, Botafogo, Flamengo and Palmeiras among them.